Here are some shots from the West side of the AXT tower. Mount Fuji is not visible but it is behind the mountains you can see.
Tuesday 27 May 2008
View from AXT tower
Here are some shots from the West side of the AXT tower. Mount Fuji is not visible but it is behind the mountains you can see.
Monday 26 May 2008
Sunday 25 May 2008
Yet another 6 string bargain!
As if I wasnt impressed enough I managed to get an amazing deal on an acoustic guitar today.
For just under £50-:
Guitar
Bag
Tuner (w/batteries)
Picks (w/holder)
Polish
Cloth
Instruction DVD
String winder
Truss rod key
Accessories case
Its all pretty good quality too. Incredible.....
Saturday 24 May 2008
I have arrived!
Here I am typing my first blog from my room in the Atsugi Youth Heim. Ive been here for only a few days but I have already been up to lots! Lets see, shall I just begin at the start?
The flight over was a lot more comfortable than I expected. I had two meals and lots of complimentary drinks. I watched a few films and managed to get some sleep, although it did get a little boring after about 6 or 7 hours so I decided to learn Hiragana (the most common character set used here in Japan) there are around 60-70 charcters so it kept me busy for a while!
Once I arrived I got a bus to Atsugi station where the intern coordiantor Shieri Imahata came to get me and we took my stuff to the youth heim (where I will be staying for my time in Japan). The room was empty at first but soon a few more helpers turned up and we filled the room with furniture and appliances. (I will post again with some more details/pictures of the room).
After that we went to the office at the Atsugi AXT main tower. I got a chance to meet the other interns as well as my Japanese colleagues (including my boss Owa-san and my supervisor Harasono-san). I have a desk of my own which was setup with two computers (I guess to allow me to run lengthy simulations on one while still working on the other). The project is a little daunting at the moment but they have setup a series of tutorials and lots of resources on a wiki-style intranet to get newcomers up to speed so I think Ill be fine.
After work I went back to the youth heim for a shower and a little nap. I watched a little bizarre Japanese Tv then went out for dinner to a little Indian restaurant with US interns Brian and Ryan.
The next morning I woke up bright and early at 5:30am!!! Being unable to get back to sleep I got ready and went for a wee wander. Not really knowing where I was going however, I didnt really find much of interest and ended up passing through mostly residential or buisiness areas. I found a little cafe near work and had breakfast then went in to start my day.
I spent all morning working through the tutorials then at lunchtime a big group of the interns invited me to a nearby sushi restaurant. I was given a loan of a spare bike by one of them and we all cycled there. The suchi restauarant was like nothing back home. You see the chef prepare everything in the middle then place them on a conveyer belt which travels around the room passed the various booths where the customers sit. You take off anything you like the look of or order something special from the waitress which is then delivered on a little Thomas the Tank engine train directly to your table. At the end they add up all the little plates you have (which are different colours for different prices; didnt try the Horse as it was a little expensive!).
When I returned to the office Imahata-san took me into town to do my Alien registration at the town hall and to open a bank account. It was a beautiful day so I was happy to get out of the office and enjoy it. I returned to the office and continued with some work.
After work there was an office party both to celebrate a recent achievement and to welcome me into the company. We went to a bizarre Asian/Italian fusion restauarant. The food was really nice, although it the variety was a little strange: thai noodles, then pizza, then chinese pork, then a ceasar salad....(you get the idea). We all had a few drinks and then I had to make a speech!
Afterwards we went to Karaoke. Allow me to attempt to explain this phenomenon......Firstly forget what you think you know of karaoke from the west, this is a totally different approach. When you arrive (bear in mind this is not a little machine in a pub, its a dedicated building) you wait to get your own room. During this time there is a changing room full of ridicolous costumes where everyone dresses up. You can then either help yourself to free softdrinks and ice cream or pay a charge to have a free bar for a set mount of time (dangerous!). Inside the room there is a booth with a big round table covered in massive tomes of the billions of songs you can choose from ( there is litterally everything from classical opera to death metal). You then punch the code into a little keypad to put your song in the queue. The lyrics and an irrelevant, often cheesy, backing video are displayed on a big flat screen and you belt out your best vocals through some wireless mics. At first I was very apprehensive but after joining in a few duets I built up the courage to knock out a rendition of Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News. It doesnt even seem to matter if you can sing or not, so that suits me perfectly!
After a few hours of karaoke Marco from Italy and Pedro from Portugal invited me to join them to go clubbing in a district of Tokyo. We caught a train out of Atsugi and after about 50mins we arrived ( a more expensive train does it in 30 mins apparently). I dont eve know how to begin describing Tokyo and I only saw a tiny portion of it. Its collossal, bright and amazingly clean. The people are polite and friendly and everything just seems modern and well-organised.
The club we went to was called Yellow, it was not particuarly big and being a little tucked away it didnt contain very many foreigners. It was quite expensive to get inside (around £20) but that included a free drink and it was open until 6am, plus the Dj was apparently quite famous. soon after we met some of Marco's Japanese friends inside. The music was great, sort of electro-house, more european than asian though so we danced pretty much all night.
We left around 5am and got the train back to Atsugi. I picked up a few supplies from the local 24 on my way home then had a mammoth 12 hour sleep. There was a programming competition that a few of the interns were doing tonight but I dont think I would have been on form for it.
So thats me up until now, I've had a really great time so far and I cant wait to see what will come next. Stay tuned for more antics!
Your Man in Japan,
Mark
The flight over was a lot more comfortable than I expected. I had two meals and lots of complimentary drinks. I watched a few films and managed to get some sleep, although it did get a little boring after about 6 or 7 hours so I decided to learn Hiragana (the most common character set used here in Japan) there are around 60-70 charcters so it kept me busy for a while!
Once I arrived I got a bus to Atsugi station where the intern coordiantor Shieri Imahata came to get me and we took my stuff to the youth heim (where I will be staying for my time in Japan). The room was empty at first but soon a few more helpers turned up and we filled the room with furniture and appliances. (I will post again with some more details/pictures of the room).
After that we went to the office at the Atsugi AXT main tower. I got a chance to meet the other interns as well as my Japanese colleagues (including my boss Owa-san and my supervisor Harasono-san). I have a desk of my own which was setup with two computers (I guess to allow me to run lengthy simulations on one while still working on the other). The project is a little daunting at the moment but they have setup a series of tutorials and lots of resources on a wiki-style intranet to get newcomers up to speed so I think Ill be fine.
After work I went back to the youth heim for a shower and a little nap. I watched a little bizarre Japanese Tv then went out for dinner to a little Indian restaurant with US interns Brian and Ryan.
The next morning I woke up bright and early at 5:30am!!! Being unable to get back to sleep I got ready and went for a wee wander. Not really knowing where I was going however, I didnt really find much of interest and ended up passing through mostly residential or buisiness areas. I found a little cafe near work and had breakfast then went in to start my day.
I spent all morning working through the tutorials then at lunchtime a big group of the interns invited me to a nearby sushi restaurant. I was given a loan of a spare bike by one of them and we all cycled there. The suchi restauarant was like nothing back home. You see the chef prepare everything in the middle then place them on a conveyer belt which travels around the room passed the various booths where the customers sit. You take off anything you like the look of or order something special from the waitress which is then delivered on a little Thomas the Tank engine train directly to your table. At the end they add up all the little plates you have (which are different colours for different prices; didnt try the Horse as it was a little expensive!).
When I returned to the office Imahata-san took me into town to do my Alien registration at the town hall and to open a bank account. It was a beautiful day so I was happy to get out of the office and enjoy it. I returned to the office and continued with some work.
After work there was an office party both to celebrate a recent achievement and to welcome me into the company. We went to a bizarre Asian/Italian fusion restauarant. The food was really nice, although it the variety was a little strange: thai noodles, then pizza, then chinese pork, then a ceasar salad....(you get the idea). We all had a few drinks and then I had to make a speech!
Afterwards we went to Karaoke. Allow me to attempt to explain this phenomenon......Firstly forget what you think you know of karaoke from the west, this is a totally different approach. When you arrive (bear in mind this is not a little machine in a pub, its a dedicated building) you wait to get your own room. During this time there is a changing room full of ridicolous costumes where everyone dresses up. You can then either help yourself to free softdrinks and ice cream or pay a charge to have a free bar for a set mount of time (dangerous!). Inside the room there is a booth with a big round table covered in massive tomes of the billions of songs you can choose from ( there is litterally everything from classical opera to death metal). You then punch the code into a little keypad to put your song in the queue. The lyrics and an irrelevant, often cheesy, backing video are displayed on a big flat screen and you belt out your best vocals through some wireless mics. At first I was very apprehensive but after joining in a few duets I built up the courage to knock out a rendition of Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News. It doesnt even seem to matter if you can sing or not, so that suits me perfectly!
After a few hours of karaoke Marco from Italy and Pedro from Portugal invited me to join them to go clubbing in a district of Tokyo. We caught a train out of Atsugi and after about 50mins we arrived ( a more expensive train does it in 30 mins apparently). I dont eve know how to begin describing Tokyo and I only saw a tiny portion of it. Its collossal, bright and amazingly clean. The people are polite and friendly and everything just seems modern and well-organised.
The club we went to was called Yellow, it was not particuarly big and being a little tucked away it didnt contain very many foreigners. It was quite expensive to get inside (around £20) but that included a free drink and it was open until 6am, plus the Dj was apparently quite famous. soon after we met some of Marco's Japanese friends inside. The music was great, sort of electro-house, more european than asian though so we danced pretty much all night.
We left around 5am and got the train back to Atsugi. I picked up a few supplies from the local 24 on my way home then had a mammoth 12 hour sleep. There was a programming competition that a few of the interns were doing tonight but I dont think I would have been on form for it.
So thats me up until now, I've had a really great time so far and I cant wait to see what will come next. Stay tuned for more antics!
Your Man in Japan,
Mark
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